I am getting really teed off with the lack of moral fortitude in so many people in business these days. What is so hard about owning up to your mistakes? The worst for not owning up to their mistakes seem to be the "experts", those who think they are above the rest of us and should never be questioned.

A mouse in your yard

We just had our car serviced. This is the second time we have had work done at the same place, and it now turns out to be the second time we have been landed with a bill $200 over what we were expecting to pay. It is also the second time the car hasn't run quite correctly afterwards.

The first time, there was a small issue with the timing, he rectified it promptly. Fine. The car ran great. We put the extra unexpected $200 down to experience.

Disingenuous genius

This time, however, the mechanic proved beyond all reasonable doubt that he is a pretty good mechanic and a bare faced pathological liar. Somehow in his world, it is OK to call my wife to say that the car won't be ready on time, and it is OK to say that he needs to order a part, and it is perfectly acceptable business practice to omit the line about "This will add $200 to what I quoted you to complete the work (that I recommended) to solve the oil leak issue (that I pointed out to you). Half truths and nothing but the half-truth, so help my customers.

He pulled the same disingenuous trick with me when I went to pick the car up. He showed me the part that my wife had given him the go ahead to replace, and after swiping my card I see the invoice for the first time. It is $200 above what he quoted. Let the bullshit begin.

Ed's pissed

Suffice to say, I called him on his tactics, and I soon realised I was up against a guy who has perfected the art of half truths.

Here is a tip if you want to run a business like a dick. The strategy is to play dumb when a customer calls you on a misleading quote. If the customer persists, you speak in half truths, and when it starts to get really awkward, you look dumbly at the customer and say you did them a favor by spotting the extra work.

Mechanics hold the key till they get the money, and in our case, in a court of law, we have almost no leg to stand on, because, like idiots we accepted his verbal "gentleman's agreement" and don't make a habit of recording phone conversations. And bottom line, in a world where only money seems to count, $200, who wants the hassle? So he won that round.

It may be a Pyrrhic victory!

The final straw came today. The weather is damp, and the engine is mis-timing. I take it straight to the garage. He points out a damaged ht lead. That's a mouse bite, he says.

I said nothing, I was so taken aback. We have 3 cats that kill anything that moves. There is no wildlife that would dare come within 100 yards of our driveway! I have been driving for 20 years and never had an issue with mice in my hood. I had the car parked up maybe 7 hours before the engine started misfiring. So I just listened to the bullshit. At the end of his excuses spiel, I had had enough. It is Christmas, places are closed. Our lead isn't getting replaced.

Clearly, you cannot discuss anything with pathological liars. Merry Christmas to all ethical upright mechanics, and a warning to a robbing grease monkey who operates just along the road from me. Like all liars, his story isn't quite good enough to outwit an ass-wipe member of the public like me who has a good memory for detail.

The mechanic is having a good Christmas, no doubt smug that he saw me off with his cleverness. On reflection, he should have bitten his tongue before blurting out, mid-BS, and I quote, This place has an issue with mice, and we have problems with cables getting chewed all the time. His ass is the next thing getting chewed, unless of course, his cousin is the editor of the consumer section of the local paper!